Profile:
~Name, Alana Craft
~Hometown, Houston, Texas
~Birthday, May 16, 1921
~Age, 22
~Income, $2,000
~Occupation, Newspaper Reporter
It was during the season of fall, October exactly, and the Americans had just captured their first German town, Aachen (Danzer et al. 576). Adolf Hitler, or Fuhrer as they called him, had made a bold move in hopes of disrupting enemy lines and on December 16, that is exactly what they did (Danzer et al. 576). As I was leaving my hotel that morning to cover a different story, I saw Hitler and his men marching down the street as if they had already fought and won every one of their battles. His face and his directional demands were so captivating, and all you could do was stare at him not knowing what he was thinking or where he would go next. Well, what Hitler hoped to do next was spilt American and British forcecs by driving German tank divisions along an 80-mile front (Danzer et al. 576). However, the success of the Germans only lasted two days (Trueman 1). Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American Staff Commanders chose to keep the line thin, so that the manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes (Kline 1). To be in this postion not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen must have been such a thrill! At least for me, being a writer and wanting everything to be a surprise, this would have been so exciting. So due to this, the American line was thinly held by three divisions and a part of a fourth, while the fifth was making a local attack and a sixth was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal, defensive fronts. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight (Kline 1). Within three days, the determined American stood and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach (Kline 2). This took place over the span of an entire month and the Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in World War Two. 600,000 American troops were involved in the battle. The Americans lost 81,000 men while the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured (Trueman 1). Coming back to the United States from Germany and sitting down to write the article was the most amazing experience of my life. To see Adolf Hitler parade down the streets being either the greatest or worst leader in history was life changing. He was what truely inspired me to dig deeper than the surface of this battle, to dig and really capture each and every one of the readers without any visuals. To me, this battle was one to be remembered in print.
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Works Cited:
Danzer, Gerald A., J. Jorge Klor de Alva, Larry S. Krieger, Louis E. Wilson, anad Nancy Woloch. The Americans. 1st ed. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littel, 2003.
~Name, Alana Craft
~Hometown, Houston, Texas
~Birthday, May 16, 1921
~Age, 22
~Income, $2,000
~Occupation, Newspaper Reporter
It was during the season of fall, October exactly, and the Americans had just captured their first German town, Aachen (Danzer et al. 576). Adolf Hitler, or Fuhrer as they called him, had made a bold move in hopes of disrupting enemy lines and on December 16, that is exactly what they did (Danzer et al. 576). As I was leaving my hotel that morning to cover a different story, I saw Hitler and his men marching down the street as if they had already fought and won every one of their battles. His face and his directional demands were so captivating, and all you could do was stare at him not knowing what he was thinking or where he would go next. Well, what Hitler hoped to do next was spilt American and British forcecs by driving German tank divisions along an 80-mile front (Danzer et al. 576). However, the success of the Germans only lasted two days (Trueman 1). Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American Staff Commanders chose to keep the line thin, so that the manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes (Kline 1). To be in this postion not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen must have been such a thrill! At least for me, being a writer and wanting everything to be a surprise, this would have been so exciting. So due to this, the American line was thinly held by three divisions and a part of a fourth, while the fifth was making a local attack and a sixth was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal, defensive fronts. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight (Kline 1). Within three days, the determined American stood and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach (Kline 2). This took place over the span of an entire month and the Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in World War Two. 600,000 American troops were involved in the battle. The Americans lost 81,000 men while the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured (Trueman 1). Coming back to the United States from Germany and sitting down to write the article was the most amazing experience of my life. To see Adolf Hitler parade down the streets being either the greatest or worst leader in history was life changing. He was what truely inspired me to dig deeper than the surface of this battle, to dig and really capture each and every one of the readers without any visuals. To me, this battle was one to be remembered in print.
Works Cited:
Danzer, Gerald A., J. Jorge Klor de Alva, Larry S. Krieger, Louis E. Wilson, anad Nancy Woloch. The Americans. 1st ed. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littel, 2003.
Kline, John. “Battle of the Bulge.” Minnesota Micronet. 6 November 2006. 24 October 2007 http://ice.mm.com/user/jpk/battle.htm>.
Trueman, Chris. “The Battle of the Bulge.” History Learning Site. 2000. 24 October 2007 <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk>.